Housing Authority increases Section 8 efforts

ALTON — The Madison County Housing Authority is gearing up its efforts to find low-cost housing for people with low income, the elderly and disabled veterans.

The authority provides rent subsidies to landlords, who pass along the savings to the client in the program, commonly called “Section 8,” also known officially as the Housing Choice Voucher Program. It is administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“It is the federal government’s largest program to help low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities pay for safe and decent housing,” said Section 8 Director Amy Parkinson.

The MCHA is allotted 1,184 vouchers, which means the authority can help provide housing for that number of families.

“After several meetings with HUD officials to discuss the program, we decided we must increase the number of vouchers used in Madison County,” Executive Director Andy Hightower said..

“As we increase the number of vouchers used, the Section 8 department will be more visible within the county,” said Hightower, who took over as executive director of MCHA in August after serving as executive director of the Alton Housing Authority.

Unlike public housing, Section 8 participants are free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program. Parkinson said the MCHA has a contract with a firm to inspect the homes to make sure they meet requirements of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“We’re working on a plan to go above the borderline standards,” Parkinson said.

Out of the 1,184 available vouchers, the agency is helping 835 families pay the rent and has 86 families currently seeking housing. Parkinson said they are getting ready to take an additional 100 families from the waiting list.

The waiting list was once as high as 880, with a waiting period of one to three years. The long wait caused many to drop out of the program, Parkinson said. Now, the authority is looking to reach out to the public to get more people to take advantage of the benefit.

“We’re looking to grow,” Parkinson said. She said that, in June, staff members will have more specific plans to appear in communities, such as Alton, in public places at which more people can come and learn about the plan. Public awareness meetings will be held in June, but the precise date has not been set.

In addition to Parkinson, staff members Brenda Fox, Pat Howard, Monica Allen and Deb Seley all participated in an interview to help get the word out about Section 8 expansion.

Staff members also want to meet with interested landlords, but they must be willing to meet HUD maintenance standards to participate.

The landlords benefit because the HUD portion of the rent goes directly into their bank account, Section 8 staff members said. And tenants are required to work with housing authority staff to see that the tenants are upholding their responsibilities.

“The staff will facilitate meetings with landlords,voucher recipients and applicants to discuss concerns and changes. We have increased the payment standard 10 percent, and we are hopeful that the increase will encourage more landlords to partner with us as we work to increase the number of people served,” Hightower said.

He said staff members will be visiting the recipients’ homes more frequently to ensure they are complying with agreements to uphold their responsibilities.

To be eligible for public housing, references, criminal background check, and credit history should show that the applicant will be a good tenant.

For all public housing, the renter and the housing agency must sign a lease. The lease will list the rent, the names of the people who can live in the home, how long the lease will last, which utilities the tenant must pay (if any), the rules they must follow, and the housing agency’s responsibilities.

Housing authority staff members also provide a number of social services in addition to helping people pay the rent. The ultimate goal is to get the tenants into jobs if they do not have them, get educated, find low-cost child care, and get to a point at which they do not need government assistance, said Allen, the family self-sufficiency coordinator.

The staff members said they enjoy working with the tenants. “Its not just a job,” said Fox, the assistant Section 8 director. Staff members happen on their clients at stores and other public places around town and interact with them. “It doesn’t end when we leave the office,” Fox said.

“Since working in Section 8, I have had many opportunities to see how excited a person becomes when they receive their Section 8 voucher to find themselves a home to rent, because, without the assistance, they may have been forced to live with family, friends or even become homeless and living on the streets,” Fox said.

And not all Section 8 participants are out of work and without income, according to Section 8 counselors. Some have jobs but still qualify for assistance. A typical family of four can make as much as $35,350 and still participate. The program includes an escrow account whereby they can save money for their eventual separation from the program.

“With the help of Section 8, a family has the opportunity to become self-sufficient and strive to become more productive in the future,” Fox said.

“I enjoy working with all my clients. I really enjoy finding those willing to work hard and find a better life,” said Seley, a Section 8 coordinator. “It’s a great program for our working clients some day to be able to go off assistance and buy their own house.”

Parkinson said that much of the progress that has been made is due to the arrival of Hightower as executive director. He has opened up additional resources for Section 8 housing and helped reduce the backlog of people needing help, she said.